1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tube for wiring harnesses which is fitted over a cable or cables of a wiring harness for protecting the same and/or preventing noises caused by the hitting of the cables with each other, and more particularly to a tube for wiring harnesses which is improved in fittability over the cable or cables of a wiring harness.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 18, a wiring harness 50 consists of a trunk 51 and a plurality of cables 55 branched from the trunk 51. The cables 55 each has a terminal 59 attached at the end which is received and locked in a connector housing 54 to form a connector 54'.
The plurality of cables 55, however, are loose at between the trunk 51 and the connector 54' and caused to hit each other, resulting in noises and damages to their sheaths.
Thus, to prevent the noises and damages to the cables' sheaths, a sheet 56 for wiring harnesses is conventionally used. The sheet 56, as shown in FIG. 19, has a multiplicity of minute bubbles 57 inside and is on one surface coated with an adhesive 58. The plurality of loose cables 55 are placed at a center on the adhesive-coated surface of the sheet 56, followed by folding the sheet 56 into halves to bundle the cables 55 therebetween. The noises and damages to the cables' sheaths are thus prevented.
The sheet 56, however, entails a drawback that its halves, once applied to each other, are troublesome to separate, especially when applied erroneously or slantwise, making the sheet unsuited for reuse. Thus, wasteful labor and time have been required in the folding operation of the sheet 56.
As a countermeasure to the above, as shown in FIG. 21, a tube 60 for wiring harnesses of a foamed and flexible material having a multiplicity of minute bubbles 57 (FIG. 19) has been used in place of the sheet 56. A cable or cables 55 each with a terminal 59 are inserted through the tube 60 to be protected therein and to subsequently bring the terminal 59 into locked position in the connector housing 54.
There is a drawback, however, to the conventional tube 60 for wiring harnesses that the terminal 59, during its sliding advancement through the tube, get caught in the irregularities on the inner circumferential surface 61 of the tube formed by the multiplicity of bubbles 57 (FIG. 19), obstructing a smooth advancement of the terminal through the tube.
If in this case the terminal 59 is forcibly pushed in, deformations of the terminal 59 and/or damages to the tube 60 will be caused. Further, the terminal 59 forcibly pushed in will shave the inner circumferential surface 61 of the tube 60 to produce shavings which will possibly stick to the terminal 59 and cause a contact failure.